The January Effect
by martindeporres
Summary: Set in January '09, after "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis". Penny/Leonard. Thanks in advance for the reviews. Enjoy!
1. Nightime

"Leonard" she whispered in his ear.

He didn't respond.

"I love you!"

"Please don't leave me!" she barely said, vainly to control the sobs that overtook her body. Her nostrils burned, her face wet with tears.

_How could I have been so stupid to let you go! _She thought.

She slowly buried her head onto his fallen chest as he lay on the hospital bed, nearly motionless but for the slow steady breathing that separated him from an uncertain night of whether he would survive or not.

The room was dimly lit. The visiting hours would expire soon. But Penny knew that she only had a few moments to say it out loud what had been tossing and turning deep inside her for many months now.

As she pulled her head up, her tears fell onto Leonard's sheets that covered his resting body. One fell on his hand. She looked up at the ceiling and with her eyes swimming in tears she started to speak to no one in particular but to someone she had not a conversation with in a long time.

"Dear God, please don't take Leonard" she begged.

"He's such a good person. You've already got good ones up there. If you take him, the world is going to be that much crummier and lame." She closed her eyes. More tears came down her cheeks.

"I know I'm not a religious person, but that doesn't mean I don't believe in you. I need Leonard; he makes _me_ a better person. I didn't mean to push him away. I am so sorry!"

"Please don't take him, please don't take him, I won't make the same mistake again! I need him. I love him!" She looked once more at Leonard.

"Please wake up, I love you!" She whispered as she once again pressed her mouth close to his ear, kissed his lips and cried once more and fell back into the chair next to Leonard.


	2. Earlier That Day

Leonard came out the door of his apartment. It was a very nice Friday, since for once he had a weekend, a very rare weekend alone. Sheldon had accumulated vacation time and had gone to Texas to be with his mother, at Mary's Cooper's insistence, due to the fact that Sheldon had not been home in over six years.

With Sheldon out of the way and Wolowitz attending a cousin's Bar mitzvah in San Diego, with Raj in tow; the weekend was clear for Leonard to do with his time as he saw fit. He figured that taking a sick day once in a while and adding an extra day to the weekend would be a good way of clearing his mind. Perhaps go for a walk or for a drive.

_A drive!_ That would be nice, he figured.

He could make some sandwiches and ask Penny to go with him on a drive to Santa Monica or Zuma or one of the beaches. There they could park and take a walk on the beach. Then eat, talk and then come back after the Friday traffic had cleared. Maybe, they could go to the movies make it a full day. Besides it was warm for January and they should take advantage of the weather before it got cold and rainy again.

_Who am I kidding? He thought._

Sure things were a more secure and stable footing with Penny since Christmas when he had confronted her about David Underhill and how she had ignored him for excitement of being with the good looking physicist from his work. It still angered him when he thought about how she had pretended to like science in order for David to like her even more.

Gleefully, Leonard silently reflected that even though he did not like how David had ultimately treated Penny, nevertheless, she had learned another hard lesson on why pretty boys were not the safest bet in a relationship. Hopefully, he had made her realize by exposing her insane reasoning of not dating guys who were too smart for her and had gone out with Underhill who was smarter than him; it destroyed her argument that they could not date, or at the very least go out as friends.

_She probably won't go out with me. But hey! I'll give it a shot and what have I got to lose?_

This was at least a step up from Leonard's first attempts to go out with Penny and his tortuous mental and physiological struggles with himself to get the courage to ask her out.

At least now he could be calmer and approach with more confidence now that they had known each other nearly 2 years.

After a quick breakfast, Leonard cleaned up and headed out across the corridor to Penny's apartment. He approached the door and knocked.

There was no answer. _Hmmm_, he thought, _I know Penny is off today_ and since it was after 9:00 a.m. it wasn't that early where Penny would have opened the door in a coffee deprived stupor ready to chew him out about how he hated sleep on a non working day.

He knocked again. Still no answer and now he grew worried.

_Could she have gone out? Not likely. Had she been called into work? Great timing!_ He thought. A nice day with Penny was about go down the drain!

As he went to knock a third time, he heard the doorknob move, looking down he saw it turn and as he prepared to greet Penny with an enthusiastic good morning, the door opened to reveal… a … guy?!

"Can I help you?" the guy muttered from the slightly opened door.

Leonard was taken a back for a moment. He had seen Penny with other guys before, but never one that opened her apartment door and was standing with what appeared to be no shirt on. Furthermore, from his body language and the way he was leaning, he didn't have any clothes on at all!

_Great! Why do I even bother? She's done it again to me!_

"I'm sorry, is Penny here" Leonard asked half confused, half defensively.

"Who are you?" he asked Leonard.

"I'm Leonard, Penny's friend and neighbor from across the way there." Leonard felt his neck turn red and hot. Why did he always get defensive when a guy like this asked him a question?

"Oh, well Penny's still asleep and won't be coming out right now _**if**_ you know what I mean." The guy winked at Leonard and all that implied.

"Oh, Ok, please tell her that I came by and I'll talk to her later," he retreated away from the door.

_Well this day is shot!_

"Sure" the naked man replied from inside Penny's apartment. "But don't bet on it!" He kind of half whispered so that it would subtly creep into Leonard's mind that she wouldn't be talking to Leonard the rest of the day because he would make sure that he and Penny would be busy doing _**other**_ – things.

"Excuse me?!" Leonard turned around and stared back at this stranger, who apparently was another loser Penny had picked up.

_What is wrong with her!?_ Leonard thought. _Why can't she get it through her head that these guys were nothing but a hop in the sack for them, a way for them to put another notch in their belt of sexual contest? _Penny meant nothing to them except carnal indulgence.

He on the other hand had come to like Penny for who she was behind the blue eyes, the golden hair, and her soft luscious skin. True the physical attributes she carried had initially drawn him to her but after all this time, he saw her as multi-dimensional. She could hold her own with Wolowitz and Sheldon and make up for the social inadequacies he carried around his neck like the proverbial Albatross. Penny to Leonard had become more than a pretty face. She completed Leonard and he completed her. As he recoiled from this guy's half audible remark, Leonard came to realize his anger was not only jealousy but also because he realized – he loved Penny.

He was in love with her and nobody deserved her like he did and nobody deserved to treat her like a sexual rag doll.

"What did you say?!" he raised his voice heading toward Penny's apartment door.

Apparently, the guy did a double take, because he wasn't prepared for Leonard to respond to the statement he had just made under his breath.

Before the guy could close the door, Leonard was upon him.

He pushed the door open and knocked the guy back towards Penny's sofa.

Embarrassment being the better part of valor the guy scrambled to cover up.

"What do you mean, 'don't bet on it!" Leonard screeched louder, as he pushed the guy onto the bar stools, knocking the pillows from his hands and sending the guy head first into the bar ledge.

Before Leonard could push him again, Penny's arms clamped around Leonard.

"Leonard! Leonard! STOP IT!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" STOP PUSHING HIM!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN DON'T BET ON IT!!" he yelled at the now fully naked man on the floor rubbing his head, wondering how this nerdy guy with glasses had become a raging bull bent on his destruction.

"Leonard!" Penny yelled again, "What's the matter with you?! Have you gone nuts?!" she asked incredulously at the sight before her. She had to stop him because she knew that even though Leonard held the upper hand at the moment, Marc could get up and rearrange Leonard's face with one punch.

She quickly spun Leonard around so she could face him.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HAVE _I_ GONE NUTS?!" he yelled back at her.

"What about you? Have you gone nuts?! Or should I ask are you still sane?! Why do you pick up losers like this?! Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. This is part of your 36 hour meaningless, sexual recovery therapy from another fractured relationship. Which of course will lead to another doomed relationship leading to another 36 hour cycle; you're caught in an endless loop Penny!!" He finally ended out of breath and inhaling and exhaling rapidly.

_I've had it with this!! He thought._

"You barge into my apartment, attack my boyfriend and you're asking me have I gone nuts?!" She barked back at him. Penny was in complete disarray as to how he was accusing her.

_Why is he so angry?_ She thought. _He's never acted like this! I thought things were good between us?_

But she knew he was right, none of her relationships worked out with these guys and although he had a point, she was angry at him for bringing it out in the open.

"Oh, I see your _boyfriend_!!" Leonard uttered and gestured the quotation marks sign, cutting her off before she could rebut him. The word boyfriend cut him to the quick.

"Yes, and that's none of your business anyway! Why are you so jealous of whom I see with anyway! I thought you were ok with the way stood between us; or did we not settle this last month?"

While this was going on, Marc was finally get his faculties and realized he needed to get dressed and get out of this mess. He realized he was the wrong corner of this triangle and he needed to untangle himself from it – fast! Rubbing his head while covering up, he said:

"I don't need this, Ok?" "Especially for a one night fling" Marc headed into Penny's bedroom and started to get dressed.

"Marc, you don't need to go! Leonard's the one who needs to leave!" She stared at him with the same eyes she had used early in their friendship after he and Sheldon had broken into her apartment in the middle of the night to clean and straighten it.

Leonard realized that Penny's choice of words were to make him believe this was a solid relationship, which he saw through anyway. Yet when she chose those words, boyfriend, in any other context other than it would include him, it boiled his blood. Now she wanted him to leave, maybe for good. Maybe she didn't want to see him anymore.

"Fine!" he barked. "I'll go"

Just ahead of him Marc, finished putting his shoes on and was out the door.

"Marc, don't leave!" Penny half pleaded as she headed toward her apartment door, but her pleas went on deaf ears as she could hear his footsteps growing fainter as he descended the stairwell.

She slammed the door in frustration.

"Before I kick you out of my apartment for the last time, I want to know what is wrong with you and why you would attack someone I'm seeing. This is none of your business Leonard! None of your business!!" She repeated.

All through his life Leonard had kowtowed to everyone else's whim and point of view. First his parents, who never gave him a birthday celebration and had orchestrated his life up to the time he had left home and could never seem to live up to their expectations.

All through, school, he was always picked on and ridiculed and beaten up on for being smart. Now, even as Sheldon's roommate he had to succumb to Sheldon's Three Strike law and the No Whistling rule along with all of his idiosyncrasies. And now to add insult to injury, the girl he cared for and wanted was about to throw him out of her life forever. He couldn't quite figure out why as hard as he tried to make his life better, it all crashed on the rocks of reality that crushed his spirit to move and grow beyond his current situation.

At first he didn't respond as he made his way to the door with a scowl on his face. Penny simply returned the facial gesture. As he reached for the door, he finally felt he had enough. He turned around and faced Penny to tell her where he stood.

"Before I go, I want to inform you young lady that I lied to you when I said I was fine with the way stood between us. Far from it; I am not ok with the way things stand between us! For two years I have watched you waste your time, affection and energy on guys that see you as nothing more than a conquest between the sheets. They don't care about you; they don't love you and certainly don't want a relationship with you, other than a constant hop in the sack!" He accused her with a stare that seemed to burn his image into her pupils.

Her arms slowly went from being crossed to hanging at her sides. She felt small; confused by the sudden unleashing of Leonard's pent up frustrations. She could scarcely believe this was the same man who was guarded and seemed to dance around the discussion of where the true state of their relationship stood.

He continued.

"But here I am, caring for you, concerned about you, worried about you and for what?!" He raised his voice higher.

"Maybe you would notice me beyond being your friend? I hoped for it. But when it didn't happen, I reconciled myself to the fact that I am physically not in the league of all your male _boyfriends_ you have had and that the only way I could be with you is as your friend and to be happy with the knowledge that in at the very least we could be happy together just _as_ friends! He stated.

"But you know what? I can't stand it anymore! I want to be with you, I want to care for you and make you smile and happy and look after you for the rest of my life!" He thought his heart would explode as the thought of what he would say next.

"I love you! How can I say it more clearly? I wake up and you're in my thoughts. I go to work and you're in my thoughts. I go to sleep and you're in my head and I can't get you out of there or out of my heart!"

Penny's eyes widened in disbelief at the words he spoke.

"But I fooled myself into believing that I could be happy just being your friend. I believed at first that by earning your friendship, you would like me and help me achieve a status I never even dreamed of before in my entire life! Not being a perpetual outsider to the majority of the human race and relegated to a class of looked down upon people who have only toiled endlessly for decades to bring pleasure and leisure to the uninspired, unthinking masses!!"

"I love you!" He opened his arms, caught his breath to slow himself down and gesturing at her said: "And if you want to go on living this deception and this lifestyle, so be it. Just realize you'll end your days lonely and old and miserable! But somewhere out there, I, will still - love you." His voice softened a bit at the end. He could hardly believe that he had let it all spill out.

"Goodbye Penny" He turned away and walked out the door and made a left at the stairs and descended to the 1st floor lobby.

_I'll never see you again! I'm such a fool!_

She was stunned.

She couldn't believe this had come from Leonard. She reached out behind her to feel for the sofa so it could catch her. No man had ever expressed his feelings to her. No guy had ever told her "I love you" with the intensity, sincerity, passion and conviction that she had just heard him speak to her.

She replayed his words in her head and the most repeated word she heard over and over again was: "I love you!"

She was dumbfounded and then a sudden thrill and chill came over her simultaneously.

"Goodbye Penny" he had said. _What did that mean? Goodbye for now or goodbye for ever? No!_

She needed to tell him how she felt before it was too late.


	3. Bat Out of Hell

As Leonard descended the stairs, he felt his chest tighten and his breath seemed to come up short. He was incensed and crazed, euphoric and depressed. He had pictured in his mind telling Penny he loved her but it always ended with her reciprocating his love. Now he had blurted it out in anger and jealousy and with her expressing anger and loathing towards him.

_Oh! Dear God! It will never be the same! I've lost her and I cannot go on living next door to her knowing I can never share anything ever again with her._

He grabbed his keys from his pockets as he reached the lobby doors and headed towards his car. He would get in and drive as far as he could until his anger would dissipate. He'd call Raj or Wolowitz and ask them if he could stay with them until he found a new roommate. He would also help Sheldon secure a new living buddy. When he came back, he would take some of his basic belongings with him and leave. It was just too painful to live next door to Penny anymore without having something to share with her.

Leonard was on auto pilot now; before he realized it he was driving down the street at an alarming rate of speed. It seemed as though he just appeared in the car. He had peeled out of his parking space and gunned the engine until he made into the street. So immersed in his anger and sadness he was that he never noticed Penny yelling after him, begging him to stop and come back to her.

"Leonard! Leonard! Stop! Come back!" she vainly yelled as saw his car disappear from her view.

_Oh my God! Where is he going? I need to talk to him. We need to talk!_ Penny thought. She quickly raced upstairs and out of breath she went inside her apartment, reaching for her cell phone on the bar, she speed dialed Leonard's Cell Phone.

Leonard stopped at the light. He couldn't wait for the red light to change fast enough. As the Yellow light appeared for the cross traffic, he readied himself to pull out.

At that instant, his cell phone rang, the light turned green, he gunned the car again and at the same time saw that it was Penny calling him.

Leonard never noticed the car accelerating to make the light before it turned red. At the last instant the driver realized he had another car right in front of him. He slammed the brakes as hard as he could, but his car swerved and shook from the sudden command to halt at 55 miles an hour. Both cars crashed into each other like an ocean wave striking a rock on shore. The terrible sound of screeching tires bound in a package with colliding bodies and the sound of glass shattering and then dancing onto the pavement in a cacophony of individual ballet repeated countless times in a less than 10 seconds.

Leonard's car's left side was crushed in and his body lay slumped over toward the passenger side. Blood trickled down his forehead and out of his left nostril. His glasses slapped away into a corner of his car; his vision blurry only enough to see a vision of Penny before blacking out into unconsciousness.

Penny tried calling again as she hurriedly made her way downstairs again. At first the ringing was climaxed by the sound of Leonard's voice asking the caller to leave a message. But the second attempt to reach him resulted in a sterile voice saying that the caller Penny was trying to reach was unavailable or out of the service area.

_How strange?! _Penny thought._ How can it change over that quickly?_

_Had he turned the cell off or thrown it out the window? Leonard wouldn't do that!_

She feared the worst and ran to her car, got into it, started it and gunned the engine. She hoped that she could somehow catch up to him even though; he had several minutes head start on her. As fearful as she was that something might have happened to Leonard, driving as angry as he was, she was still warm with the glow that even in his anger, voice he had displayed to her; he told her that he loved her.

"He loves me! He really does love me!" she said to herself out loud.

All this time she had suspected that he had deep feelings for her and it was now true, she admitted to herself that she had been harboring deep feelings for him as well. Ever since their first date and their decision not to push the envelope on their relationship, she had seen Leonard in a different light. He was shy, she could see it. He was nervous around her, even when he was trying to impress her with his knowledge and not seem so dorky and geeky. But he wasn't like Kurt or any of the other guys that threw that macho bravado at her, trying to look cool by their talk and looks only for her to painfully discover that their actions came nowhere near in matching that pompous arrogance they mistook for animal magnetism.

Leonard didn't do any of that. Even when he could have really taken advantage of her that night of the Halloween party when she had too much liquor, he didn't. Although she could later reflect on how he was kicking himself for not doing anything with her by serving herself on a silver platter for him. Leonard had acted gentlemanly and chivalrous and had passed on the opportunity. It was at this moment that she began to see that although he wanted her, he would not do it underhandedly.

She had seen how he didn't want to ruin their friendship even at the cost of not going out on their first date. What finally slapped Penny in the face was how he reacted when she went out those few times with David Underhill, Leonard's colleague at Cal Tech. She could start to see he was immerging from his shell. How he pointedly reminded her that he had asked her several times to the campus but had turned him down, only to jump at the first invitation David had given her. How he questioned her stated interest in science in David's presence, then when David's true colors emerged and wanted to commit adultery with Penny, driving the point home with the _**100 Science Experiment for Kids**_ Kit he gave her as a Christmas present.

_What is wrong with you!? What were you thinking?!_ she questioned herself as she pounded the palm of her hand into her forehead. "Why did you sleep with Marc?!" she said out loud.

Indeed, Marc had been coming into the Cheesecake factory for a while and had struck up a conversation every now and then. He seemed nice. Nice enough for her to go after work and have a drink with and then the next time bring him home and have sex with him. She still couldn't come up with an excuse as to why she did that knowing the feelings that were stirring within for Leonard. She realized now, thinking back, that she really had been feeling something for Leonard since early in the relationship. How he tried to apologize for cleaning up her apartment in the middle of the night with Sheldon. How sweet he looked trying to shove his apology note under her door. How the jealousy bug had bit her a bit when Leonard had sex with Leslie Winkle and had resumed the relationship soon after their first date in response to her dating someone else again. Yet she had never felt as jealous as when Leonard had an even longer relationship with Dr. Stephanie Barnett.

_Thank God that was no over!_ she thought.

_The doctor was definitely too clingy!_

She scanned the road while looking at parked cars to see if Leonard had parked anywhere. This was a long shot. She thought about turning back when she had to break suddenly, the fast flowing traffic came to a sudden slowdown. Something had happened ahead to bring the traffic to a crawl.

_It must be an accident._

Her stomach then sank. "Oh please! I hope Leonard's not in it" she pleaded out loud.

She closed her eyes and prayed that nothing had happened to him. Yet she also remembered how Leonard had taken off at a high rate of speed from their parking lot.

What seemed an eternity for the traffic to move, she finally came upon the intersection too discover, much to her horror, Leonard's Car crushed on the left hand side with another car next to him with a crushed in front. An ambulance was on the scene and some policemen. Slowly increasing in volume another ambulance's siren could be heard approaching and a small gathering of pedestrians were gathering at the corner to witness the crash site.

There was a man being helped to the curb; a blond haired guy with a large gauze pad being applied to his head. The paramedic continued helping him by asking him questions and looking into his face to make sure he stayed conscious.

As she glanced toward the ambulance, she could see Leonard on the gurney, his eyes closed and his face stained red with dried wiped away blood. A respirator was over his face.

"Oh my God, no! Leonard, no!" she screamed to herself.

She quickly pulled the car over into the nearest available space. She didn't care where at the moment.

She flung open the car door and raced into the street, dodging the slow moving cars.

"Leonard! LEONARD!!" she yelled, hoping to get a response from him as she closed the distance between her and the back of the ambulance.

"I'm sorry Miss, but he's being taken to the hospital. Are you a relative?" asked the paramedic.

"I'm his neighbor" her voice and lips trembled, her eyes quickly filling with tears.

"I've known him for two years" Tears streamed down her face.

"Does he have any next of kin?"

"Not here, back East" Penny replied with a trembling voice. Her eyes focused back on Leonard. "His family lives back East." "Is he going to be ok? Please say he's going to be alright!" She cried.

_Leonard, no! This isn't happening._ Her tears continued to run.

"Well, he's got a couple of broken ribs, his left arm is broken and he's on a respirator. We'll do the best we can." The paramedic responded, thinking it was better to give her some hope. He could tell that Penny was more than just a neighbor. He saw how deeply she cared for him due to her distraught state.

"Where are you taking him?" she asked.

"Huntington Memorial" the paramedic responded.

"I'll be there!" she replied. She wiped away the tears and scrambled back to her car, again avoiding the traffic tie up.

She climbed back in her car and started the engine. She made her way into traffic and the next light turned right and headed towards the hospital.

It was the longest drive of Penny's life.


	4. That Afternoon

Penny' mind careened back and forth between thoughts of how Leonard would recover or if he would recover at all. Suddenly, she contemplated a horrible thought. _What if Leonard dies? _

She staggered at the prospect of this possibility coming through. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and then spill on to her cheeks. She fought to wipe them off with her hand in fingers. By now her head throbbed and her stomach ached. The world around her seemed surreal as if though this was a bad dream that should be waking up from. Because in her mind, if she didn't, the prospect of Leonard not being around anymore, struck dark fear into her heart.

"Leonard!" she cried.

"I love you!" she declared.

Why did this happen. I love you!

Within 15 minutes she was at the hospital. After parking the car, she headed towards the lobby and asked the receptionist at the desk if Leonard Hofsteader had been admitted into Emergency.

The elderly lady checked her computer screen and typed in the information as Penny relayed it to her.

"Yes, he's in Emergency right now" she replied. She went on to direct Penny how to get there.

Penny thanked her and raced down the corridor.

A few minutes later she arrived in the Emergency Area. She asked the on duty nurse where Leonard was. After the nurse checked, she informed Penny that he was being taken into surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain.

"Broken arm and two broken left ribs. He has a concussion as well." The nurse stated.

"Are you his wife?" she asked.

_His wife? What a wonderful change that would be from this hell!_

"No" Penny replied. "I'm his next door neighbor."

"You said he had a blood clot?" Penny asked incredulously.

"I'm afraid so" the nurse replied.

"Listen, miss, do you know his next of kin or how to get a hold of them?"

"They're all back East." Penny stated. "I don't know what to do!" she cupped her hand to her mouth and her tears welled up again.

The nurse could see that Penny was extremely upset at the situation her next door neighbor was in. She seemed to be more than just a neighbor for her to be in this condition.

"Do you know who could get a hold of them?" she asked.

"Sheldon!"

"Is he his brother?"

"No, I'm sorry," Penny said, sniffling, "Sheldon is his room mate"

"Oh!"

"If anyone knows how to get a hold of them, it would be Sheldon. I'll call him."

Half a continent away, Sheldon's phone rang. It was nearly dinner time and his mother had prepared another great meal that scintillated his nostrils and wetted his mouth like a Pavlovian dog with drool at the prospect of digging into one of his mom's patented home cooked dinners.

He checked his phone to see that Penny was calling.

_How odd! Why would Penny be calling me?_

"Penny!?" he remarked.

"Sheldon! Thank God!" she blurted out.

"This is an odd surprise but I must warn you I am about to head downstairs for one of my mom's great home cooked meals so I can't talk right this minute."

"Sheldon, I need your help"

"Can't it wait until after dinner?" he replied in a semi-dismissive tone that belied his disdain for having his meal interrupted by a phone call.

"No Sheldon it can't!" she said tersely.

"Why can't it? Many meals are interrupted by phone calls but the answerer informs the caller that they have called during dinner and that they will call them after the meal has been consumed!"

"Sheldon! Listen to me! I need you to call Leonard's parents immediately!" she demanded.

"Why!" Sheldon demanded back.

"Because…" she stammered and it was now hard to state what had happened.

"Sheldon, Leonard's been in an accident" she stated as she started to cry.

"What?!" Sheldon replied as he sank into the nearby chair. "How did this happen?"

"Leonard's been in a car accident. He's in surgery right now. The doctors are trying to remove the blood clot. He's got a broken arm and two broken ribs. He also has a concussion. Sheldon, please call his parents and let them know what has happened!" Her breath and voice gave out.

"Penny, I'll call them right away!"

"Please hurry Sheldon, and call Raj and Howard. You're his best friends; I don't think I can talk any longer. I'm just a bundle of nerves!"

"Ok, I will do it right away." Sheldon declared.

"Sheldon, is there anyway you could all come back, because I don't think I can face this alone. Especially if he… if he… dies!"

"Penny, do not think that way! You need to generate positive Alpha Waves and eliminate that kind of thought from your head. I'll call the guys and get them to head back to where you're at.  
What hospital is he in?" he asked.

"Huntington Memorial." Penny replied.

"Alright then. I will take care of these matters immediately and then try to get the first flight back to Burbank. I'll be back as soon as I am able to."

"Thanks Sheldon!" Penny gushed.

"Goodbye Penny." Sheldon uttered.

"Bye Sheldon."

The conversation had calmed Penny somewhat. Yet she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that it would all be for naught if something happened to Leonard before the guys could return.

Penny returned to the Emergency Room desk and told the hospital that Leonard's Parents would be notified immediately.

"I don't know what else to do." Penny said.

"Well, you can give us as much information as possible as you have, so at least we have something to go by. Right now you're the closest person he has in this hospital."

"I must look a mess right now," Penny said. All of a sudden it popped into her head that the crying and runny nose must have done wonders to her appearance.

"Life threatening situations usually do that to people who have a loved one in peril" the nurse replied.

"Loved one?" Penny asked.

"Next door neighbors usually don't react the way you do to this type of situation. I can tell."

"Tell what?" Penny asked as if she wanted to deflect the obvious away from her.

"That you're in love with him sweetie!" the nurse exclaimed.

Penny thought to herself. _I am!_


	5. Run In

After about an hour's time, Penny headed toward the ladies room to fix herself up. She had been waiting for any news about Leonard but no news had come from any doctor.

She decided to fix herself in case the long shot possibility that she was able to see Leonard.

_I hope I can see him but he can't see me like this!_

Her hair was disheveled, her eyes were red and her mascara had run. She went into her purse and tried to make herself back up as best she could.

After coming out she went to the cafeteria to get herself a bottle of water to quench her thirst but she wasn't hungry. Food right now had no appeal.

She went into the elevator and went back upstairs to the Emergency Room.

When she came in she noticed with a doctor with medium length auburn hair and stocky built with her back to her. She thought she recognized her. Only when she turned to face Penny, did she realize who it was.

It was Dr. Stephanie Barnett, Leonard's recent ex-girlfriend.

"Stephanie, I mean Doctor" Penny corrected herself. She wasn't sure how to handle the situation now with Leonard's recent love interest all of the sudden back in the picture.

"Hi Penny." She stated with a slight smile.

"Please call me Stephanie" she said.

"Thanks Stephanie." Penny said as she calmed down a bit, feeling relieved that the situation would be friendly rather than confrontational. She remembered how Stephanie seemed perturbed at Leonard that he had not mentioned Penny to her while the two had been dating a couple of months before. To Penny, it seemed, Stephanie perceived her as a rival and even though the two had parted on friendly terms, she couldn't shake that feeling.

"Listen, Penny, I need to talk to you about Leonard." Her smile gave way to a concerned look as she reached her hand and touched Penny's arm to bring her closer. It seemed to Penny she was about to receive the worst news possible.

"What is it? Is he going to be okay?" Penny asked.

Stephanie sensed Penny's anxiety and fear. She had seen it many times before in situations similar to this one. She also sensed that Penny would be devastated by any news less than promising but she had to let her know that Leonard's chances of surviving were up in the air.

"Leonard's in a coma." She said almost matter of fact.

Penny stopped, brought her hands to her face and stared at Stephanie with an incredulous look.

"The doctors relieved the blood clot in his brain but he hasn't regained consciousness and just a short time ago, he slipped into a coma."

"Is he going to make it?" Penny choked up.

Stephanie realized now that Penny deeply cared for Leonard and had hidden it very well from not only him but from her as well during the time she had dated and briefly moved in with him. Now, however, this terrible event had brought those hidden emotions out into the light of day.

She continued to explain.

"His injuries are recoverable, although it will take some time. His slipping into a coma doesn't seem reasonable because just by the nature of his injuries and the relieving of the blood clot, he should have been on the road to recovery, albeit a slow one."

"Then why is he…"

"In a coma?" Stephanie concluded Penny's sentence.

"I don't know." She continued. "However, Penny, it seems as though he doesn't want to stay here. In other words, he seems to want to go."

"No!" Penny exclaimed. "He's young and strong and intelligent and full of life, why wouldn't he want to come back. He's got his whole future ahead of him!" Penny cried again once more.

"Can I ask a personal question?" Stephanie requested trying to keep Penny and situation calm.

"Okay." Penny said, not knowing what to expect from the doctor, as she wiped away tears with tissues.

"Do you love Leonard?" she asked straightforward.

"We're just friends" she said. She quickly qualified it, "I mean, we're good friends but that's all." Penny hoped to quell any suspicion by Stephanie of her true feelings for Leonard.

"Are you sure? Because by the way you're taking this, this is more than friendship."

_How can she know that I love him? Damn our feminine intuition! _Penny thought.

"Penny, do you want to know why Leonard and I broke up?" She asked.

Penny snapped to attention but did not want to reveal her observation that Stephanie had in her opinion suffocated poor Leonard by moving in with him and setting the speed of the relationship to warp drive.

_Damn those Star Trek terminologies! Where the hell do they come from?_

"Listen, Stephanie, it's none of my business and I really don't want to…"

"He called out your name the last time we were together." Stephanie said with a hint of sadness and a bit of jealousy.

_Oh my God! He wanted me even when he was with her! _

Penny tried processing this new information and it struck her so strange. Here was a Doctor, for heaven's sake, accomplished, intelligent and pretty so high above Penny's educational accomplishment scale that it just didn't make sense that Leonard would want her instead of Stephanie. She thought that she may want to let Stephanie know that it was never her intention to break up their relationship.

"Stephanie, please believe me when I tell you that I never wanted to break you two up. I stayed clear out of the way. I was happy for Leonard." Penny declared.

Stephanie looked at her and knew that Penny was telling the truth and lying at the same time.

"Happy for him, but not for me, right?" Even though you loved him then as you do now" she stated.

Penny thought about it for a moment. She searched in her mind as to what type of answer would make the good doctor not think she was the cause of their break up.

Stephanie thought it best to bring this potential confrontation to an end once and for all. It just did not serve any purpose to get Penny even more upset and hurt Leonard in the long run.

"Penny, look, its okay; what's best now is that you stay with Leonard and talk to him and let him know that you love him. Even though he's in a coma, he can still hear you. If you let him know your true feelings, I think you can bring him back."

"No hard feelings." Stephanie declared.

"No hard feelings." Penny echoed.

Stephanie embraced Penny and said: "Go to him and bring him back. He's a good man."

"I will!"

"Don't let him get away." With that Stephanie looked at Penny with a smile, turned around and walked away.

Penny let out a sigh of relief and proceeded to Leonard's room.


	6. The Last Night

Penny closed her eyes. She was so tired and ready for sleep. Her head snapped up as she realized she had fallen asleep in the chair next to Leonard's bed. How long had she been asleep? She looked at her watch and it was 8:05. Visiting hours were over. She stood up, ready to walk out. She had bared her heart to Leonard a few minutes before, hoping he would come back to her. Yet as she prepared to leave for home, she turned a final time to say goodbye.

_I love you!_

"I love you Leonard, please come back to me!" she whispered and kissed him on his lips.

She stood to walk away, gently brushing his hair back with her fingers.

Before she reached the doorway, she heard the monitors beep. She turned to see the monitor showing his pulse and heart rate increasing.

"Leonard?"

She looked down upon his face. Even in his frail condition, he seemed so handsome to her and could barely contain her tears that they may never be together.

Leonard's eyes flickered and he took what seemed to be a deep breath. His eyes opened slightly, and then closed again.

"Pen- Penny" he strained to get her name out with his lips.

"Leonard! Sweetie! I'm here!" Penny exclaimed.

"Pen- Penny" he said again.

"Yes, sweetie, I'm here!" she exclaimed again.

"I lo- love, I love you!" he declared. He closed his eyes as a slight smile formed on his lips.

"I love you too! You're going to be fine!" Penny's eyes clouded with tears, they dropped onto her cheeks and unto Leonard's chest.

"I'm sorry!" he continued.

"No sweetie, don't apologize. I'm the one who's sorry for not telling you how I felt about you and for hurting you. I promise I'll never do that to you again." She said as she sniffled.

"Forgive, Forgive me." He said weakly and sort of hoarsely.

"Honey, sweetie, don't, it's okay!" she rubbed his forehead.

"Please, forgive, I, love, love you!" he said once again. He opened his eyes.

"I love you too! Please stay with me!" she pleaded.

"Bye, Bye Penny" he said. "Goodbye."

The words chilled her bones, made her stomach sink and her heart shatter.

"No Leonard! No, please!" she pleaded.

Now Leonard closed his eyes and let out a soft breath. His chest did not rise again.

The monitors started beeping and flashing. His vitals had flat lined.

"Leonard! LEONARD!! GOD!! OH MY GOD!! LEONARD! PLEASE! DON'T GO!!" Penny wailed as she bent down to embrace him. To somehow hold him down to earth and not let his spirit leave the room, leave her. Leave her alone to live alone for the rest of her life without the only man who had ever confessed love to her.

"LEONARD!! NO!! COME BACK!! PLEASE COME BACK!! She shook and held him tighter.

The nurses came in and grabbed Penny, trying to pry her loose in order for them to try to bring him back.

She let go and stood in the corner, watching helplessly.

"PLEASE SAVE HIM!!" She cried.

"Please save him! Please! Leonard!" her voice cascaded down and her eyes gushed tears of pain and deep sorrow as she sank to the floor as she watched the medical staff administer the defibrillator to his chest.

"LEONARD!!!" she screamed once more.


	7. Nightime Again

Her head bounded from the pillow. She stared at the wall in front of her. She was covered in perspiration. Her chest hurt, she gasped for air. The room was dark. She cried as she reached for the table lamp to illuminate the darkness and bring order to her confused head.

_Where am I?_ Penny thought

"Oh God!" She cried.

She tried to collect her thoughts for a moment. Leonard was dead? Leonard? Dead? Her Leonard? Dead? It couldn't be!

She suddenly looked down at the bed at the vacated pillow and empty space next to her.

"LEONARD!!" She screamed.

"Penny! Penny!" Leonard's voice came from the other side of the door. She hurriedly crawled over the bed and stood up just as he came through the door. She jumped and clutched him around his neck.

"Oh, dear God! You're alive!!" she squeezed him tighter.

"Of course I'm alive! Why wouldn't I be? Are you okay?" he asked incredulously.

"No I'm not! I dreamt that you died!" She cried.

"Well, I'm not dead yet!" Leonard shot back.

"Oh! Sweetie, you're alive! You're here with me!"

Leonard knew he needed to calm her down from the nightmare she had just awoken from.

"Its okay, my love, I'm safe. We're together. Calm down. It was only a bad dream. Here, let's sit down."

"Oh, crap!" Penny exclaimed as she climbed off of Leonard and sat down back onto the bed. He sat down beside her.

"Its okay, it was just a bad dream!" he hugged her and stroked her hair. She smelled so good, even in the middle of the night and covered in perspiration. How good it was to hold his love and take her all in. It felt as though the energy of the universe was injected into his being whenever he hugged Penny.

"It was a damn nightmare!" she said. She wiped away the tears with some tissue Leonard handed her from the Kleenex box on the nightstand.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"No, not now, maybe later" she replied. She embraced him once again and wouldn't let go of him. Penny wanted to make sure that he was with her in her arms, absolutely and positively and that no bad dream would come between them.

As she brought one hand over her eyes she asked, "Where were you?" she let go and looked at him face to face with a concerned look.

"I was putting our baby to sleep!" Leonard exclaimed.

"Baby?" Penny asked amazed. Just a minute ago, Penny's universe was without Leonard, now it had them as parents?

"Yes, my dear, our new baby we brought home from the hospital yesterday." He explained while looking at her hoping she could ground herself back to reality and wrap her head around the fact that they were a new mother and father.

"You've been asleep for almost a day since we got back home!" Leonard stated to help get her jump started.

"Oh my God, we're parents?!" she exclaimed. "That's right!" Suddenly, Penny realized that just over 2 days before she was in labor and Leonard had been beside her, coaching and guiding her through one of the most difficult yet joyful part of life; bringing a new human life into the world.

"You want to see our new angel?" Leonard asked. He beamed with pride and love for both his bride and child that only a few short years ago would have seemed impossible if not for the incredible transformation he had undergone with Penny.

"Sure!" Penny exclaimed. Her recent distress now turned to sweet relief, joy and excitement that Leonard was indeed alright and the incredible rush of realizing she was a mother.

"Our baby!" she gushed with pride. She smiled and Leonard's heart was content in the fact that she was his and he, hers.

"Our baby! Beautiful and smart!" Leonard repeated the words he had told Sheldon on the day he first met Penny.

"Sweetie, I love you" he kissed her and hugged her.

"I love you too my love" she hugged him back. _God, it feels good to hold you!_

"Let's go see our baby boy!" Leonard stated.

With that, Leonard helped her up and led Penny into the baby's room to gaze upon the new life their love had created.

END


End file.
